Malema guilty of reckless shooting

EFF leader Julius Malema was found guilty of unlawfully discharging a firearm on Wednesday morning after charges were laid by AfriForum following a 2018 incident.

Straight after the gavel came down in the East London Magistrate’s Court, Malema walked out of the court house to join his supporters in a chorus of “Kill the Boer”. 

Malema and his former bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman, faced trial after video footage showed a rifle being handed to Malema, who then fired shots into the air at the packed Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane in 2018.

It was the party’s fifth birthday rally.

Malema was convicted on all five charges including unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, discharging a firearm in a public area, reckless endangerment of persons or property, and failing to take reasonable precautions to avoid danger.

Snyman, who was accused of handing him the rifle, was acquitted.

The State argued the actions endangered thousands of supporters, while the defence insisted the "toy gun" fired blanks and no witnesses could confirm live rounds were discharged.

From the outset, Malema and Snyman have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

They tried to have the charges dropped, saying there was not enough evidence.

But the application was dismissed.

Outside the courthouse, Malema told supporters that he would challenge the conviction all the way to the Constitutional Court.

He said: “A revolutionary going to prison or death is a badge of honour. We cannot be scared of prison, we cannot be scared to die for the revolution.

Magistrate Twanet Olivier found Malema guilty on all five counts, ruling that the rifle fired by the EFF leader was real and not a prop as the defence had claimed.

Malema dismissed the verdict as politically motivated and said Olivier was racist. .

He added: “By releasing accused number two [Snyman], the whole case should have collapsed.

"But the racist [magistrate] was looking for me and that’s why they could not collapse the case, to appease AfriForum, to appease the Oval Office of Donald Trump, to appease all the white supremacists of SA who want to undermine the dignity and the strength of black people,” he said.

Malema is out on bail and pre-sentencing is set for 23 January 2026.